Drenched in carbon
by Not Just a Nerd
Summary: Set after last season. When and how does Audrey come back to Haven? Nathan x Audrey.
1. Chapter 1: Drenched in forever

**Disclaimer: I do not own Haven or any of its characters. **

**Warning: Spoilers throughout the seasons, specially of the season finale.**

* * *

It's been two years since the barn last appeared, or at least that's what the calendar tells him. If you ask him, it feels like decades since she disappeared. They found Duke two days later at a motel, perfectly alright, but without any memory whatsoever of what had happened since he entered the barn. Together, the two searched every corner of Haven for Audrey, didn't find her anywhere, openly blamed each other for Audrey's fate, secretly blamed themselves, and never spoke to each other again. Sometimes they would find themselves at the beach, staring out at the sea, and they'd have a beer or ten together, never saying a word.

The troubles were gone. Life had returned to normal, at least for everyone else. If you ask him, every touch seemed to burn him now. He had wanted this for a long, long time, but he had wanted to save Audrey more. He felt like a fallen hero, like a superman who couldn't stop the destruction of Krypton.

He'd look at the pictures sometimes, remember the time the two of them spent together, or with the people from the town, and wonder where she was now, how she was, _whether she needed him_. Then he'd take another shot of vodka, and show up at work drunk again, and just not give a fuck.

And one day, he does just this, when a random woman who had come to report a random item missing from her house asks, "What happened to your hand?"

He looks down at his right hand, at the pen he's been writing with- Audrey's pen, and doesn't see what's wrong.

"Your other hand", the woman adds, seeing his confusion. And he looks down to see his left hand bleeding.

And then it suddenly hits him. _He can't feel a thing again. _He got so used to this, that he didn't even notice!

* * *

"We _don't _talk", Duke reminds him, not taking his eyes off his poker partners. He's a little surprised that Nathan come to visit him here, and a little irritated too. It's not like it ever stopped hurting, but Nathan's presence was just salt to his wound.

Nathan frowns in annoyance. "I know. So you can guess it's an emergency, or I wouldn't be asking."

Duke thinks for a moment. He wonders what might be going on.

Is it about Audrey?

He cashes himself out immediately and meets Nathan outside. "What's going on?"

"The troubles are back", Nathan says shortly.

Duke furrows his eyebrows. "That's not possible. It's not time yet."

"I know", Nathan runs a hand through his hair. "Something must have gone wrong. I mean, we did mess up the barn pretty bad."

Duke shakes his head. "How can you be so sure?"

Never in his life did Nathan think that he'd be happy to say this: "Because I can't feel a thing. Again."

* * *

The big question that haunts them now is "Where is Audrey?" They search every corner of Haven for her, again, and they don't find her, again. But this time, instead of fighting over it, they decide to wait a few days to see if she comes, before deciding their next course of action.

And waiting plain sucks. Nathan tries to keep himself busy with the case at hand, how a simple flower vase disappeared from that woman's house- nothing else seemed to be stolen, nobody was hurt, the doors and windows were closed at the time of the robbery too. It's like the vase just vanished into thin air. He wonders if this could be related to the troubles, but he doesn't come to a conclusion yet.

Three days later, he gets a call from the woman. She screams even over the phone, and tells him that she has found the vase, but the thief refused to confess, and asks him to come and make the necessary arrest. He tells her to calm down, and notes down the address carefully.

It's a small flower shop, and apparently, the employee had stolen the vase, for some unknown reason. When he reaches the place, for some reason, it gives him the creeps. It's like something's wrong with that room. He winces when he sees that a crowd had gathered. "Haven PD, please leave now", he makes his way through the crowd, to where the woman is.

And then his heart speeds up. The thief is standing with her back to him, thick dark hair up to her waist staring him at the face, and he just _knows _that she will turn around and he will know it's Audrey.

And that's exactly what happens. It still takes him by shock, but he's _so_ happy to see her, after so long. His face lights up with a big smile as he fight back the tears welling in his eyes.

"There you are!" the woman exclaims, breaking the moment, and points at Audrey. "Arrest her!"

"I didn't do anything, Officer!" Audrey pleads, "I don't know how the vase got here, I swear. I just got here three days back, and I really need this job, and you have to believe me."

He takes another moment to study her. It's the same eyes, same nose, same lips, same face- just with Lucy's hair, and something different- something he can't really put a finger at yet. No wonder people didn't recognize her. But _he_ knows it's Audrey. "Do you know who I am?"

"You're the Chief, I think?" she asks uncertainly.

He realizes she doesn't remember him, and as much as it saddens him, this is just what he had expected.

"Yes, and you are…?"

"Audrey", she says.

And it brings a huge smile to his face to know she still goes by the same name. "Come with me, please. We'll straighten this out."

* * *

"What do you think?" he asks Duke, as they stare at Audrey, sitting alone in the interrogation room, looking down at her lap.

"It's her alright." Duke agrees. "Should we tell her?"

Nathan shakes his head. "No, not yet. She doesn't remember us. She doesn't know us yet, we have to earn her trust before we freak her out."

Duke hates to admit it when Nathan is right, but he has to acknowledge it this time, and does so with just a nod.

Nathan will take it, though. He nods back at him, and enters the interrogation room.

"So, Audrey…"

"Yes, Chief?" she asks anxiously.

He takes a seat in front of her and smiles. "You can call me, Nathan."

Duke rolls his eyes from outside. "So smooth, Nathan. You must be a smoothie"

Nathan opens the case files, and stares down at the pen, then at her expression, wanting to see if she recognizes it, but of course she doesn't. If she doesn't remember _him, _she sure as hell wouldn't remember a pen! "Now, where were you the night of the robbery?"

She dead-pans. "Which night would that be?"

"Uh", he feels stupid for a moment, "that would be two weeks before this Saturday, fourteenth."

"I was at Washington, packing." She answers quickly. "You can check my plane tickets."

Yeah, he knows how that would go, but he doesn't say anything. "Ok, I will. Meanwhile, you can't leave town."

"I don't plan to". She tells him quickly again. "I like this place, it's beautiful. And the people too."

He nods, happy to see that she still feels the bond that she used to. He clears his throat. "You know, we're kind of short-staffed right now. Would you like a job here?"

She chuckles. "You're kidding."

"No, I'm serious." He reassures her.

Duke winces outside the interrogation room. "Sure, _we have to earn her trust before we freak her out_." He mocks, muttering to himself. "Yeah, a stranger hitting on her and offering her a job didn't freak her out at all."

She looks taken aback. "Why would you offer _me _this job? You don't even _know_ me."

He does know her, but he doesn't tell her that. He just smiles, "I'm the Chief, I can tell when people are suited for a job. How about you join me on this case, and see if you like this? And then you can decide."

She thinks for a moment. Maybe this is a good way to clear her name off the robbery? She just got into town, she can't afford to have her reputation tarnished right from the beginning. "That sounds like a good idea." She finally says.

He tries not to show his happiness on his face. "Welcome aboard", he says, holding out his hand to her. She smiles back at him as she shakes his hand. And yes, he can feel it. This time, he _can't _keep the happiness off his face.

But he recovers quickly. "So tell me about the vase. Where did you find it?"

"It was at the shop when I got here this morning. I thought it was a new item Miranda had bought."

"Miranda is the owner of the shop you work at? Okay, let's go talk to her then."

* * *

**A/N: How do you like it so far? Should I continue or leave it? Please review and let me know :)**


	2. Chapter 2: Drenched in familiarity

**Chapter 2: Drenched in familiarity**

* * *

Duke confronts Nathan on his way out of the interrogation room. "You know, I'd think you of all people would be more subtle and wary."

Nathan tries to play it off like it's nothing. "What are you talking about? What? Are you jealous or something?"

"No, but _you_ are out of your mind", Duke admonishes. "What were you _thinking?_ Offering her a _job_ on the _first_ meeting?"

Nathan bites his lips. Yes, this _is _unlike him. But it's _Audrey, _he just _can't_ be guarded around her, he never has been able to be. Even when he was taken back in time to Sarah-

He closes his eyes and takes in a shrill breath. _No_, he will not go there, he will not think about their son again. And he just did.

"I know what I'm doing, Duke." He finally says.

"Really?" Duke challenges. "What are you doing, Nathan?"

Nathan sighs. Can they not have this argument _now_? "In case you don't remember, the barn-keeper is gone. No one is here now to introduce Audrey to the troubles again. I'm trying to do that."

"Oh, so you're trying to send Audrey back to the barn when the time comes?"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Nathan whispers under his breath, in a threatening tone that matches the glare in his eyes. His muscles are tensing, and he is losing his patience now. "I will _never_ let her go back to the barn _ever _again. But this is what Audrey would have wanted- when she's here, it's her destiny to help with the troubles."

"It's her destiny to go to the barn too", Duke reminds him. Why is he suddenly so suspicious of Nathan, when he knows all Nathan wants is the best for Audrey too? Is this just his guilt on over-drive, having not being able to save her last time?

"And it's your destiny to die in the hands of a man with the same tattoo like mine." Nathan warns, his hands clenched into a fist now. He wants nothing but the best for her, and he will not tolerate this non-sense.

"Um, guys?"

For this long, Audrey had been quietly standing at a side of the passage-way, letting the two men talk in private, but she could see from their body language that it was escalating into a fight. And for some reason, it bothered her. Some voice inside her head told her that it was her place to interfere, that she wouldn't be trespassing.

"Is everything okay?" she asks anxiously, standing between the two, like a physical barrier.

Nathan and Duke exchange glances for a moment, as if to say, _just like old times, eh? _

"This is Duke", Nathan introduces, still tense, "Duke, Audrey."

"Hi", she smiles at Duke.

Duke smiles back, "Hello."

Before they could take the conversation further, Nathan interferes. This time, _he's_ jealous. It's like this is their second chance to win the girl, and he's not going to let Duke steal _his _girl away. "Come on, let's go."

* * *

The drive back to the shop is silent for the first few minutes. Nathan steals glances at Audrey now and then. She is absolutely his Audrey, he can feel it. She's different somehow, she's not _exactly _his Audrey, she's not her carbon copy, but she's definitely drenched in carbon.

He breaks the silence by clearing his throat. "So, why did you come to Haven?"

She shrugs. "I don't know. One morning I just woke up and decided to be here. I'm impulsive like that. Maybe one morning I'll wake up and decide to get out of here too."

He only smiles, he knows he's not going to let _that _happen.

"What about you? Why did you come to Haven?" she asks curiously.

"I grew up here", he corrects her, but for some reason, her question resonates deep within his mind, and makes him wonder, why _is_ he in Haven?

They make small talk during the rest of the drive, she talks about her life, how she grew up, how much she hated school, how she needed to buy a hair-dryer immediately. She realizes how smoothly her conversation flows with him, like she has known him forever. It's weird how she feels safe with a stranger who doesn't feel like a stranger….

* * *

They step out of the car, and Nathan curses under his breath. The flower shop is on the corner of a street, in the ground floor of a two-storied building owned by the owners of the store. The crowd that had gathered here earlier has now disappeared, and it makes it look almost like an abandoned house. "This place is so creepy, isn't it?"

Audrey shrugs. "No".

It makes him wonder if this place is troubled and she feels okay with it because she's immune to the troubles.

More importantly, it makes him wonder why in the world he has to make such a big deal over a stupid vase robbery. Only in Haven, only in Haven.

They enter the shop, the door making a creaking sound like in the cliché horror movies. The air feels like it's coming from the mouth of a volcano, yet, it makes the hair on his arms stand up straight. The place is empty now, just filled with vases and flowers and orchids. The sun is almost at the horizon, and the faint light of sunset is creeping in through the window, giving the place a Haunted House feel. Great, all that's missing now is creepy background music.

Audrey breaks the hypnotizing effect of the place by turning on the lights. "Miranda?" she calls out. There's no answer. "That's weird", she mumbles, "Why would she go out leaving the shop open?"

By this time, something about this whole thing has started to feel _not quote right _to Nathan. He decides to takes a look around the shop. Everything seems to be normal to him, yet, something is…. _off. _He picks up a random vase and studies it, it feels normal, it looks normal, he can't exactly perceive what's wrong with it. He smells a flower, loving its fragrance.

Finally, he decides everything is fine, he's just paranoid, it's just him being over-whelmed by how he suddenly got Audrey back, nothing else.

"Nathan!" Audrey suddenly shrieks.

He turns around immediately, panicked and alarmed. Is she okay?

She stands still, with her hands covering up her mouth in shock, and motions at his hand with her eyes.

He is almost afraid to look.

* * *

**A/N: So I've decided to continue this. Hope you like it! Please review :) **

**P.S- I added a cover image to this story, hope you like it :D let me know if it infringes copyright or something, I haven't really done this before :/**


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